Tucson is not the place to be around Veterans Day! My experience:

[Wonder Why]

We arrived in Tucson Sunday night. I've purposely worn my AF Veteran hat to see how many Maggots would thank me for my service. At home, in our smaller city, I'd get lots of "Thank you"s especially this time of the year. Up until yesterday, when we went to see the Traveling Wall and they gave me a T-Shirt that said "Stand for the flag. Kneel for the fallen", I could count the total number of people who said anything on 3 fingers. Nobody else at the places we visited, the restaurants we ate at, or the hotels where we stayed. So today, Veterans Day, we walked around the 4th Ave District passing well over a couple of hundred people and I got only two - one guy on the Sun Tram and the waitress at lunch. I was wearing both my hat and my new shirt. I don't think anyone else knew what day it was - or cared.
Tomorrow is our last day here. Then we head back east on Amtrak (not one person on the outgoing train said anything to me but most of the time, I had no hat on.
I think I'll be glad to get out of Arizona.

[rlexx]

1. I don't really expect to be thanked for my service

[Wonder Why]

3. As I mentioned, this was a test.

Last edited Sun Nov 12, 2023, 12:38 AM - Edit history (1)

I've purposely worn my AF Veteran hat to see how many Maggots would thank me for my service.

But thanks mean more to me because in the '70s we were told when we went on leave not to wear uniforms to avoid being attacked by our fellow citizens and in the '80s we were simply non-entities. It was only after the First Gulf War that being a veteran meant something to others. A lot of veterans of that era suffered from the rejection and the hate.

[brewens]

9. It goes without saying. Plus, I thanked you guys when I paid you. Most importantly, I'm against ever

sending our troops to fight unnecessarily. That's worth more than all the flag humping and phony patriotism.

[Wonder Why]

10. As to paying us, back then we made very little. As a 2nd Lt. I made $300/month vs the minimum

engineer paid $800 on the outside. If you didn't stay 20 years (I did not), you walked out with no pension, no IRA. When I resigned after 12 years, I went from a total compensation job paying $11K to an initial pay of $35K on the outside with a 6 figure income 10 years later. Now, without a draft to fill the military, pay is far better proportionally than it was.

As to sending our troops unnecessarily, I totally agree with you. We can't "save" countries that don't want to be saved and we need to work within the U.N. and NATO, not push them to join us or go alone.

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. AZ is a purple state- former marine Ruben Gallego will be their senator in 2025. Nt

[brush]

5. Not just that. Tucson has been blue for decades.

[brush]

4. Tucson is always blue, and it's a university town.

The mayor and most reps are Democrats. Have been for ages.

[Igel]

7. I read the OP and thought, "Tucson? Military?"

Tucson is *not* the place for American Western imperialist running pigs of capitalist shark war or whatever to go to find pro-Trump folk.

Want that? Also avoid Globe. Superior might be okay. Yuma. Florence. Parts of Phx or Peoria. Apache Junction.

But Tucson?

Tucson?!? UA-land?

[brush]

8. Yes. Grew up there years and years ago. Always been blue.

[marybourg]

6. Many veterans have expressed "enuf

with the thanx already”, so many have stopped saying it. Arizonans consider themself very patriotic, and Tucson, as noted above, is Dem country. So, thank you for your service. Sorry you were disappointed by Arizona.